Home»Campaigns» Najib urges an end to Rohingya violence, wants OIC and UN to intervene (Updated)

Najib urges an end to Rohingya violence, wants OIC and UN to intervene (Updated)

Posted on 04/12/2016

Thousands attend the 'Solidarity for Rohingya' gathering outside the Titiwangsa Stadium, December 4, 2016. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not keep mum in the face of escalating violence against the Rohingyas in Myanmar, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said.

Najib said the country would do whatever it takes and act through whatever means possible to stop the violence that he claimed lacked humanity.

“What do they (Myanmar) expect us to do? They want me to close my eyes? They want me to remain quiet? I will not close my eyes and mouth. Enough is enough!

“We must defend and protect the Rohingyas, they are human too. We will continue to act through whatever channel, we will pressure them, we will fight to the end,” he said during the Solidarity for Rohingya assembly at the Titiwangsa Stadium today.

The assembly was attended by some 15,000 participants, half of whom were Rohingyas residing in the country.

Najib said he was aware of a statement by the Myanmar government on Friday that it would regard him as interfering with its internal affairs should he attend the assembly, but said he was unfazed.

“They are threatening me, they issued a warning to me, but I don’t care! I am here not as Najib, but in the name of ummah and Malaysia as a whole,” he said.

Najib also noted that while the Asean Charter states that there shouldn’t be any interference in another country’s personal affairs, it also touches on protecting human rights.

“I think they (Myanmar) only read one chapter, and did not read the rest. Are they blind? Don’t simply interpret based on your own whims,” he said.

Najib, who is also Umno president, said he recently assigned foreign minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman to Naypyidaw, Myanmar to meet with its leader Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss the Rohingya issue, but was told off by the latter.

“Suu Kyi said ‘if you want to see me on bilateral issues, okay. But if you want to discuss Rohingya, then no’.

“What’s the meaning of community of nations in Asean then? What’s the meaning of being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?” he asked.

Najib also urged international organisations such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations (UN) to intervene and take immediate action to stop the violence against the Rohingyas.

“When hundreds of thousands died in Bosnia and Rwanda, the world watched. The world waited, and acted too late. This time, we are not willing to wait and watch,” he said.

Meanwhile, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said the crisis in Myanmar should not only see Malaysia but other countries that have signed the UN’s Declaration of Human Rights calling for action.

“Where are the other big nations with power? What’s happening in Myanmar is uncivilised, requiring international intervention,” he said.

Today’s assembly saw Umno and PAS sharing the same stage amidst talks of a possible political cooperation after the latter’s departure from the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat.